Refreshing iPad

Apple updated its iPads this week. Tech news and social outlets have shared much food for thought about the new features and overall philosophy of iPad. It’s made me wonder. How might I better utilize my own iPad these days since I prefer my MacBook? Do I like the iPad as much as I once did?

About that new stuff

First, the new iPad hardware is mostly iterative. They’re a little faster, thinner, better, nicer, etc. The Pencil has a few new features. The Magic Keyboard has a Function row. All nice things but not much new, really.

The iPad has been distilled to the essence of tablet.

The iPad line has been kind of simplified a little bit.

If you like iPadOS, you can use it for a mere $350. That’s the base model iPad price. Cool. You can also use it for up to $2,600, or even more if you add accessories. So for $350, you can buy a 13” Magic Keyboard accessory for iPad Pro. Or for the same $350, you can buy a whole entire iPad using the same iPadOS.

Basically, the $350 iPad does the same tasks as a fully specced $2,600 iPad Pro. Your mileage may vary.

M1 iPad Air

I have both the M1 iPad Air and the M1 MacBook Air. Same CPU brain, but different heart and body for each. I prefer the MacBook’s clamshell body and macOS heart. I use my iPad less these days, but I wonder how I might use it more. Further, I wonder again how much I could be iPad-first, like I’ve been in the past.

I guess the ideal would be to use either iPad or MacBook but not both? Well, using just one would be simpler, minimal, which is good.

My iPad’s unique Apple Pencil abilities are what keeps me using it. It’s not often that I sketch or sign documents, but when I want or need to, it’s superb. It’s also seldom that I use my iPad as a 2nd display for my Mac or use its SideCar or Universal Control feature, but when I do, it’s great.

That’s about all I use it for these days. I’m not even using it for just YouTube surfing or other casual consumption things that tablets excel at. My iPad lives in a keyboard case that adds weight and bulk because I had made it a laptop (replacement) instead of a tablet. So it’s not conducive to using it for casual tasks, like eReading.

I love the Kindle Paperwhite eReader. Its handheld size, eInk, forever battery, and one-task focus are splendid. But lately I’ve once again started to wonder if I could simplify and just use my iPad (or iPhone) as my eReader (whether it be the Kindle app, Apple Books, or both).

I might try peeling my nice blue iPad Air 5th gen from its Logitech Folio Touch cocoon, making it “just a tablet,” and using it as an eReader for while. If I stick with it, then I might trade it in for an iPad mini instead for its more handheld size and weight.

Tablet mode

So this weekend, I’m relying on my iPad first. But I’m doing it the way I did years ago — tablet-first. 

I realized something. When I took my iPad out of its hefty case, it became a thin and light glass slab, a modern computing marvel. It’s effortless to tap, swipe, and scroll to get-stuff-done.

Yeah, maybe it’s cliché, but it feels like some kind of barrier is removed. Like Steve Jobs demoed way back in 2010 on a sofa chair, using iPad is more, uh, intimate? Let’s say “personal.” And casual. It’s like the OS gets out of the way and just lets you use apps.

Closing

Using my iPad more like a tablet computer instead of a laptop helps me think different. It leans into the iPad’s strengths as a lightweight and simple computing appliance or console. With an open mind, I’m not trying to force iPad to be a Mac; my expectations are changed. iPadOS is not meant to mimic macOS.

After some time, I see three potential outcomes of my iPad as tablet-first experiment:

1. I trade my 11” iPad Air for an iPad mini, using it as my main device — the smaller size is more conducive to being tablet-first and is far better for eReading and toting in my EDC bag.
2. I stick with my iPad Air as my main computer, using my MacBook only when I really need it for a certain task.
3. I revert back to the Mac as my primary machine but also find new specific use cases for my iPad as a tablet. If nothing else, it could be my eReader and handwriting device (in which case I’d likely trade my iPad Air for a mini).